Recipes for Ravioli stuffed with
Zucca, or Winter Squash, can be found without a great deal of
difficulty. However we have not seen a lasagna prepared
using a squash and filling. We made the lasagna described
below for Thanksgiving and it was a welcome change from the more
typical lasagne more often made. Its flavors also
fit the Thanksgiving Season nicely. We would not necessarily
make it only at Thanksgiving, but any time we had an urge for a non
tomato or béchamel based lasagna. It is a fairly complicated
recipe, but well worth the effort.

Ingredients

1 1/2

Lbs

Lasagna Noodles - [See
Note 1]

3 -4

Lb.

Winter squash - dark green in color and
thick skinned

1

Cup

Ricotta cheese

1

Tsp.

Nutmeg - freshly ground

2

Slices

Prosciutto - cut into small pieces

1/2

Cup

Pine nuts

1/2

Cup

Bread Crumbs

24

leaves

Sage - fresh & chopped into small
pieces

1

Cup

Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Pepate
cheese - grated fresh

Salt &Pepper

To Taste

Note 1: This
recipe is best when made with fresh lasagna noodles, but can be made
with dry, store bought ones. If using store bought, use 1 3/4 lbs.
and cook to an al dente state prior to using

Preparing the Stuffing

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cut the Zucca (Squash) into
quarters and remove the seeds and any fibrous materials found. Place the
pieces on a baking sheet and sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil. Put
into the oven and cook until the squash is tender - about 30-40 minutes
depending upon the size of the squash. Remove and allow to
cool. When they can be handled, scoop the pulp out with a spoon and put
into a mixing bowl large enough to hold all of the other ingredients.
Blend until creamy using a hand blender. If a hand blender is not
available, a food processor will do.

Add all of the other ingredients
except the cheese and sage leaves to the bowl. Add 1/3 of the cheese, and
and 1/2 of the sage leaves. Mix with a large spoon. Set aside while
preparing the noodles.

Turn off the oven.

Preparing
the Lasagna Noodles

Mix 1-Tsp. salt, 1 Tbl. olive oil, two
eggs (or one whole egg and one yolk), and two cups flour in the mixing bowl of a food
processor or mixer. Knead until dough still a bit sticky. Place on a floured board and
knead by hand for 3-4 minutes. Cut the dough into 10 -12 pieces. Using a pasta machine,
pass the pasta through the machine while gradually reducing the settings as you go along.
No cutters will be used. The idea is to make a noodle as wide as the roller, and as thin
as can be handled. Ideally each noodle should be approximately 4 1/2 feet long when
finished. If this is too difficult to handle, 2-3 feet will do. On the
pasta machine used, the "#5" setting was used for the last one or two
passes. allow the noodles to dry on floured boards for 15 minutes prior to
using.

Into a large mixing bowl add water, ice
cubes and 1/4 cup olive oil. This will be used to keep the noodles separated after they
have been boiled for a minute, and is best prepared ahead.

Place a large pasta pot on the stovetop,
and bring the water to a gentle boil. Add 3 tablespoons of salt to the pot, then reduce
heat so that the water boils gently. Add 2-3 fresh noodles at a time. As soon as they
float to the top of the pot, remove them with a slotted spoon, and place them into the
water/ice/olive oil bowl. As soon as these are cooled - only 10-20 seconds
remove from the ice water bath and place on kitchen paper towels. Do this until all the noodles are cooked. If the water in the
cooling pot begins to heat up, add more ice. Do not stack the noodles on top
of each other or they will stick together. Have at least two thickness of paper
in between batches.

Assembling
the Lasagna

Preheat the oven
to 350°.

Oil the bottom
of a 9 x 12 casserole. Place noodles on the bottom so that all sides are
covered as well as the bottom. Do this in such a manner that at least 6
inches or the noodles are hanging over all sides. (This is quite easy with
hand made noodles, but takes extra store bought ones.)

Spread 3-4 large
spoonfuls of the squash stuffing on the noodles. The stuffing layer should be
about 3/16 of an inch thick - more or less. Sprinkle this layer with some
of the grated cheese and a little olive oil, then fold over the enough
noodles to cover the stuffing. With hand made noodles, folding the two
ends over will accomplish this. With store bought ones, a few noodles may
have to be added to the center to cover the stuffing. Add another layer of
stuffing, cheese and oil, then fold over one side of the noodles to cover
this. Add a third layer of stuffing in this manner and then fold over the
remaining noodles. The final layer should be noodles.

Using a sharp
pair of pointed scissors, make cuts in the top layer. Overlapping noodles can be
cut into short ribbons. In this way as they bake, some will turn up others
down, and a beautiful pattern emerges. Place 6-8 small pats of butter on the
noodles and then sprinkle with olive oil.

Bake for 35-40
minutes. Check after about 15-20 minutes to see if the top noodles are
browning too much. If so, place a loose sheet of aluminum foil on
the casserole to stop the browning and continue baking for the allotted time.

Remove when done,
and let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare
a sage-butter and olive oil sauce. Add ten to twelve sage leaves to three
tablespoons of hot melted butter to which two thirds of a cup of
extra virgin olive il has been added. allow this to simmer for a minute then
turn off the heat.

Serve the
lasagna, adding 3-4 tablespoons of sauce to each serving along with a tablespoon
of grated cheese.